Bernard Pollard: Lamar Jackson Should ‘Dial Back’ Do-It-All Mentality To Help Ravens’ Super Bowl Quest

Lamar Jackson was Superman last year, and it got him an MVP, but it did not get the Ravens a Super Bowl.

As the 2024 season beckons, a safety who played for Baltimore’s most recent championship team believes it’s time to trade individual accolades for better balance – which just might give the Ravens a better title shot come February.

“I think Lamar Jackson is a phenomenal player; I really do,” said Bernard Pollard, who was a Pro Bowl alternate and won a ring with Baltimore in 2012. “The man has won two MVPs, so I don’t want to take any of that away from him. 

“But Lamar Jackson does everything all of the time. That’s my question with bringing in Derrick Henry: Will Lamar Jackson be OK not being the guy all the time?”

Jackson threw the ball a career-high 457 times in 2023 and had 148 rushing attempts. The team was dominant in the regular season but bogged down in a 17-10 AFC Championship Game loss to the Chiefs, as Jackson struggled throwing the ball and no running back eclipsed three carries.

Henry has led the league in rushing attempts four of the last five years, and while he’s 30 years old, there is no one in the NFL more comfortable being a bellcow.

“Can Lamar say, ‘OK, I’ve got my money, I want to dial it back, I want to win?’” Pollard said. “‘Let me hand the ball off to the guy that’s going to run it. Let me avoid situations where I’m taking unnecessary hits.’ Everyone gets excited when he rushes for 1,000 yards, but those yards cost something.

“For him, can he allow the running backs to do their job, and then scramble when he needs to? Can he be more of a passer and allow his receivers to make plays, not just throw crossers or run around in the backfield to throw bombs? Can he work his way down the field and allow his receivers to be route-runners, and throw them open instead of looking like backyard football?”

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— Bernard Pollard Jr (@Crushboy31) April 22, 2024

Jackson has led the Ravens in passing and rushing yards in each of the past five years.

Pollard would love it if the Ravens took some pressure off Jackson in the regular season so he could be as fresh as possible for the playoffs, but doesn’t think the star quarterback will agree to it.

“I don’t think he can be that guy,” Pollard said. “That’s not shade toward him. That’s just the type of player he is. He’s a phenomenal player who needs the ball in his hands. You look at the Allen Iversons, guys like that, they need the ball in their hand to be who they are. I don’t think people want to see Lamar be a pure passer, but at the same time, that’s been the crutch for the Ravens’ offense.”

Baltimore is comparable to the Chiefs in terms of regular season success during Jackson’s reign, but Kansas City has perfected the art of peaking in the postseason.

Pollard believes that by allowing Henry and the Baltimore receivers to play a bigger part in the offense, the Ravens would take some pressure off Jackson and be more well-rounded in the playoffs.

“The talent gets better and the pressure gets higher every single week,” Pollard said. “I think that’s why the Ravens’ offense has struggled, because Lamar has done it all and been the Ravens for so long. I’m not knocking Lamar, but when you get to the playoffs, it can be a detriment.”

Baltimore has not made the Super Bowl with Jackson as its starting quarterback.

“Some teams shoot their wad in the first part of the season, and there’s nothing left,” Pollard said. “And you’ve seen the teams where things start to come together. If you look at the Chiefs, that’s how they’ve done things.

“You want to see a team be complete and hit on all cylinders going into the playoffs. The Ravens have a chance to do it, but there has to be that balance. They’ve got to let everyone do what they do instead of relying so much on Lamar.”